Can y'all believe this fic reached over 1,000 views this week because I sure can't! I wish I had some kind of special ready for this, but all I have is this short little interlude and the promise that things are about to get real.

Please enjoy!


Paku had always thought of herself as a simple girl with simple needs. She believed that it was the little things in life that really mattered, that really brought joy.

Too bad she couldn't have most of those things because Rukia was a giant bitch.

"Sit still," the human bit out. She was furiously scrubbing at the doll, a firm hold on her head as she half submerged her in water.

"I'm sitting as still as I can!" Paku yelled, squirming in the basin. She didn't even know what all this cleaning was for! Yeah, she had gone out to get a bit of fresh air yesterday. So, what? A little dirt never killed anybody.

She gurgled under the water that was poured over her. Rukia probably didn't even know how uncomfortable it was to get your cotton stuffing soaked. She furiously shook herself, trying to get the water out of her fluffy ears. Rukia flinched back. With a deep scowl, the human swiped the water off her face.

"You know, I could just chuck you in the washing machine and be done with it," she grumbled.

Paku narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Rukia challenged, sitting back on her heels, arms crossed. She looked down her nose at Paku. "You have to get clean one way or another, and there's no way I'm letting my limited edition Chappy Doll get slowly destroyed because you like stomping through mud puddles."

The Mod Soul's eyes narrowed further, looking for any signs of bluffing, any possible tell. Rukia's eyes narrowed in return.

Oh shit, she's serious.

"You're so cruel!" Paku cried. With a self-satisfied smirk, Rukia got back to scrubbing. All Paku could do was whine…

"You're getting soap into my eyes!"

and whine…

"This stuff smells weird."

and whine…

"Are you seriously using bleach?!"

Eventually, Rukia had to get out her little stereo and put the first album she could find on blast near the door, just to keep Paku's protests from being heard. This, of course, didn't deter the Mod Soul at all. If anything, it spurred her on. She kept on crying and muttering about every little thing, even when Rukia brought out the hair dryer and drowned her out completely.

She only stopped when she was angrily thrown onto Rukia's bed. Rukia was muttering things about haunted dolls selling for a lot these days, back turned towards her closet.

Paku grumbled wordlessly, straightening out one of her fuzzy ears. She just received the harshest cleaning of her life, and Rukia didn't even have the decency to apologize! She was just rummaging around her closet looking for…new clothes it looked like.

Rukia turned back to Paku with a fresh dress on. She straightened it out, brushing it down with her hands, looking quite annoyed. Before Paku even had the time to comment, she grabbed a simple shoulder bag and a pair of slippers.

"I'm going out today," she announced.

"Ohhhh! Can I come?" Paku asked, scrambling to the edge of the bed.

"No," she said back. Paku's face fell. She continued, nonplussed, "I'm not going to fight a Hollow. I'm seeing a movie with some friends." Then, her eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. She pointed a finger at Paku, saying, "You, on the other hand will stay put while I'm gone."

"What! How's that fair?" Paku asked. "You go out and have fun, and I just stay here?"

Rukia glanced back at the dress she wore while bathing Paku. It was a frumpy thing that was only worn in the house. It was a soft orange color and look old as hell. Rukia would have called it well loved, but according to Paku, Rukia was dead wrong. The orange fabric now had dark spots where soapy water seeped in, and light spots where the bleach had gotten it.

"Tough," the human said, right before slamming the door behind her. Paku pouted.

With a sigh, the Mod Soul scooted back to the middle of the bed, leaning against the pillows at the head.

"'Tough!'" she mocked in a high-pitched voice. "'You stay put while I'm gone!' What a sourpuss…"

Paku thought she'd been pretty good, lately. She helped with the Hollow invasion brought on by that nerd of a Quincy, she didn't talk when she was stuck up in the backpack (for the most part), and she usually stayed in the room when she was told. She really couldn't believe that this was how Rukia would repay her for all her efforts.

If there was ever a day to be a little "disobedient" it was today.

Looking around Rukia's room, her mind began to turn. She hopped back down onto the carpet with a soft squeak as she thought of the best way to stage this little prison break. She snuck as quietly as possible to the door, and craning her neck, she looked up at the doorknob.

My first obstacle!

It was high, at least three times her height, not including her ears, and the door was completely closed.

She smirked. As if the girl that could leap tall buildings in a single bound would find a doorknob difficult.

Paku ran quickly to the bed, stepping back until her ears brushed the frame. She eyed the door, lined herself up properly, and ran for it, jumping up. Rushing through the air, she hit the door with an "oof!", grabbing onto the handle with two freshly clean paws. (Well, they were almost paws.)

Okay, now what…

The handle barely moved when she grabbed it, only tilting down a tad. She'd have to put a bit more oomph into it! She swung herself down using as much momentum as possible, probably looking a little ridiculous just swinging on a doorknob. It all paid off when it finally opened.

Click!

She hopped down feeling almost giddy, padding quickly down the hallway. She used her whole body to climb (and boy was it a climb) down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she saw Byakuya Orikasa, back turned as he read a book, lounging on the living room couch.

My second obstacle!

Really, it was both her second and third. There was the obstacle of not getting caught by Rukia's rather vigilant brother, and there was the obstacle of not getting herself distracted.

He was just so hot!

Byakuya Orikasa was about as pretty as a guy could get. He had this brooding expression, these fine delicate features, and long black hair that just looked so soft! He was wearing it up in a ponytail at the moment, one that Paku wished she saw much more often.

He was a gorgeous prince and a serious loner all at once… What else could a girl ask for?

And those dark eyes!

Paku would have blinked it she could. Those dark eyes were staring at her right now. She stiffened up, staying stock still as Byakuya approached her.

Oh no.

"What on Earth are you doing out here?" he asked, picking her up gently. She didn't dare move a muscle. "Rukia should know better than to just leave you lying around," he said, more to himself than anything. Her in hand, he started walking back up the stairs.

No, no, no, no!

He put her right back onto the bed and closed the door behind him.

"I was so close!" she cried out, burying her head in her paws. Then again… Byakuya did hold her. Perhaps it was a fair trade. With a sniffle, she dragged her eyes back onto the room. There had to be another way!

The very first thing that caught her eye was the window, right by the bed. It was the same one that Rukia would open up whenever it got too hot in the room, and Paku knew for a fact that there were some shrubs right underneath it, perfect to soften a fall.

With a quiet grunt, she heaved the window open and stepped out onto the ledge. She took one quick look down, saw a decent place to aim for, and took the dive. As she got closer, her eyes widened.

Rose bushes! Why did they have to be rose bushes?!

Paku walked away from the house with several thorns stuck in her behind and prickly leaves stuck to her stomach. Such was the price of freedom.

Taking in that sweet late spring air, Paku couldn't help but think that it had been forever since she'd been out. (Yesterday didn't count. She got caught a few hours in.) She just knew that she would have to make it count!

With a squeal of excitement, she began sprinting away on the pavement, going much faster than any stuffed animal had any right to.

That being said, she was still going painfully slow by her own standards.

"What gives?" Paku muttered to herself, pushing her tiny body harder. She could go at least three times faster than this, and that was on a bad day. She was running like Rukia.

With a pout, Paku realized that, maybe, this body couldn't quite keep up. Yet another reason why it was just the worst! She pressed forward, frown deep on her face, ignoring the gob smacked child she ran past.
She ran with no particular plan in mind, but her feet ended up taking her to Rukia's school, currently abandoned. It was Sunday, so there wasn't much going on, but she was sure she had caught some kind of posting about activity here today… She took a sharp left turn from the front door and ran toward the soccer field.

Bingo!

Reaching the edge of the field, Paku darted behind the bleachers. Through the seats, she saw them, the soccer team boys. They were in the middle of practice, doing some basic drills. Sweat beaded down their foreheads and stuck onto their hair as their muscles glistened in the sunlight… There was just something about a physically fit man that did it for her!

She knew she needed a closer look.

She crawled forward, dragging herself through a gap in the seats and stepping quietly over them until she reached the edge of the field. The captain of the team must have noticed her in that moment, because his eyes darted right over.

In a panic, she hid behind the nearest thing she could find, a soccer ball, gripping its sides to keep it stationary. The captain's eyes lingered for a moment, but not any longer.

With a sigh of relief, she peeked over the top of the ball, and it felt as if all her dreams had come true!

This was easily the closest she'd ever gotten to her precious Soccer Boys. Her eyes practically sparkled as she saw them go through the motions of their practice. She almost melted when a shirts and skins practice game was announced.

She got considerably less excited when the ball they grabbed for the game was the one she was hiding behind. The captain didn't even pick it up, he just started kicking it!

She was immediately sent through the air, clinging onto the ball for dear life as she started screaming her tiny stuffed head off.

The ball was kicked again, and again, and again! She was sure she'd start throwing up stuffing any moment now… Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

The ball was halted right underneath a player's foot, she was wedged between it and the grass-covered ground, both ears and a single eye exposed. The player looked down at her, a confused eyebrow raised.

"Hey, Sato, pass the ball over here!" another player called.

"Uhh, sure," her savior said, "in a second. I think some doll got stuck on it." He kicked the ball up into his waiting hands, quickly peeling her off the synthetic leather. He held her at arms distance, looking a little disgusted.

"Just go throw it away, or something," the other player said. Was she really that filthy?!

A few minutes later, Paku found herself in a dumpster behind school grounds. Well, now she was.

She started sniffling, trying to find purchase on the garbage. God, she'd never been so low! She hefted herself over the side, certain that she'd never want to leave Rukia's room again.

It was then that she noticed the stuffing coming out of her leg. As if things couldn't get any worse! She couldn't get back home on that.

She resigned herself, then, limping as far away as she could from the trash can, and just sitting herself out in front of the school gate.

She smelled, she had thorns stuck in her, she was covered in grass and dirt, and now she had stuffing coming out of her. All that adventuring, and all she could do was wait for someone to find her. Maybe Rukia's movie was out by now?

Probably not.

So focused on her own misery, Paku almost missed the black alley cat looking at her very intently. Its green eyes shone, and its tail flicked back and forth. Paku was having none of it.

"Back off you mangy cat!" she yelled at it, swiping her arm out. It reacted immediately, but not the way she wanted. It lunged at her, grabbing her by her extended arm and began dragging her off with a spring in its step. It must have thought she was some filthy dumpster rat!

"Fine, then!" she yelled, having finally snapped. "Carry me off. Just wait until I get back into a proper body!" The cat, very obviously, wasn't listening. Someone else, however, was.

"What on Earth?" she heard someone mumble from the sidewalk. "Did that stuffed animal…" She struggled to see who was talking, and it was, of course, the nerdy Quincy. He was far from the handsome prince she'd prefer to have rescue her. He might even be a step under Rukia.

Without much effort, he shooed the cat away, quickly grabbing an abandoned Paku carefully with a wrapped hand. He was still the only hero she was going to get.

"What are you doing out here, Mod Soul?" he asked, inspecting her body, and shifting all his groceries to one (unwrapped) hand.

"It's a long story…" she said depressingly. He didn't say anything in return. He just gave an exasperated sigh and simply tucked her to his side.

He brought her to his apartment, which ended up being not far at all, and a few things about it struck Paku immediately.

It was rather small, and most notably, empty. It was tidy and utilitarian, very few personal items lying around aside from a couple of books, stacked neatly. He dropped his groceries on a pristine countertop, setting Paku down right next to them. He frowned.

"It would probably be bad form to send you to Orikasa like this." He may not have come out and said it, but the message was clear. She was filthy, and she was getting another bath.

She'd say this day couldn't get any worse, but she was pretty sure the universe was taking that statement as a dare, now.

The Quincy ended up dropping her in the sink, and after grabbing a few supplies (a washrag, some tweezers, latex gloves, and a decent amount of soap and detergent) he set to work.

It actually…wasn't bad.

He was gentle but thorough, working through the cotton quickly, digging out thorns and detritus without much trouble. He ended up letting her air dry as he put away the rest of the groceries, and when he finally deemed her dry enough, he broke out the sewing kit. Paku's eyes bugged out.

"There's no way you're bringing a needle anywhere near me!" she cried. He ignored her and started threading a needle.

"You're spilling cotton everywhere," he said matter-of-factly. He took a firm hold of her leg before she could say another word and got to work.

Okay, maybe it didn't hurt at all, actually, but it was the principle of the thing! She didn't like getting stuck with things when she didn't need to be. At least it was over quickly.

She was as clean as a whistle when he tucked her back under his arm and headed out the door again. She had a good feeling she knew where he was taking her, and surely enough, minutes later they were standing right in front of Rukia's house. He knocked, and of course, Rukia was the one to answer.

"Hey, Ishida, what are you doing…" Her eyes darted down to Paku. Paku shyly waved at her, and Rukia's eyes narrowed. Eventually, her expression softened into one of exasperation, and with a sigh she said, "I was just about to go looking for her. Thank you." She bowed slightly.

"It was no problem, Orikasa." He held out Paku, not looking Rukia in the eye, and the human took Paku, tightly gripping her in both hands. The Quincy adjusted his glasses, obscuring his eyes from view before saying, "I…still have a few errands to run. I will see you at school tomorrow, Orikasa."

Paku snorted. Gods, could he be more awkward?

"See you later, Ishida," Rukia said with a slightly strained smile. He turned, she closed the door, and her smile fell.

She opened with, "Where the hell were you?"

The Mod Soul, pretty tired of getting manhandled, wiggled herself out of Rukia's hands and landed softly on the floor.

"Oh, you know…Out and about," Paku answered casually.

"'Out and about?' Yeah, right." Rukia rolled her eyes.

Paku would have stuck her tongue out at Rukia if she could. How could one person be so boring?

Really, where would Rukia even be without her?


Perhaps not my favorite, but I had a good time. I would have given you all a longer one, but this week is Anime NYC (which will already be underway by the time this is posted!) If any of you happen to be going, I hope you all have a wonderful time, and if not, have a wonderful Thanksgiving (or just a wonderful week if you're not from the US.)

Your reviews give me life.